Abortion: Science, politics and morality collide

What can science say about the morally contentious issues surrounding abortion? Last week the governor of South Dakota enacted a law banning all abortion in the state, except for when a woman's life is in danger. This challenges the US Supreme Court's 1973 Roe vs Wade ruling that such bans are unconstitutional. The state is basing its challenge on a report by the South Dakota Task Force on Abortion, a 17-member panel of senators, lawyers, doctors and campaigners from both sides of the abortion debate. The report was commissioned to evaluate the medical and social evidence surrounding abortion, especially evidence not available in 1973. The panel called witnesses and examined thousands of pages of testimony from previous abortion cases. Key issues the task force focused on include identifying when life begins, and examining any physical and mental health risks associated with abortion. Four members of the task force walked out ...

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